Bright star near the moon tonight?

Question

So I was looking at the moon tonight from Phoenix and it looked so bright. There was a bright star that seemed very close to it. From my view, it was southwest of the moon. I looked in the whole sky and didn't see any other stars, just the moon and that star. I am an idiot on astronomy, but still find it very interesting. Was it a planet maybe?

Answer 1

It was most probably Venus

Answer 2

UGH!  Why do people answer when they dont have a clue?  That makes me so frustrated!  5 wrong answers above.  

What you saw was Jupiter.  It will be close to the moon for the next couple days and a very pretty pairing I might add.  Good photo opportunity too.  

http://www.stellarium.org/

This is great freeware that you can download.  Interactive star chart.  Just tell it where you are and it will tell you what you see.  This will answer many cellestial questions for you.  I hope that you enjoy it.

Answer 3

maybe its Venus

Answer 4

wow..u've invented a new planet!!

Answer 5

I saw that too, My friend Kay took astronomy she said it Jupiter was near it, and alpha centauri was near it as well (that's a sun that's close to us, it has sort of a red tint to it)

Answer 6

If it twinkles it's a star, if it is steady it's a planet. I think it's either jupiter, venus or saturn. Mars is always ruddy.

Look up Jack horkheimer the star hustler on the net. I think he says it's Jupiter.

Answer 7

Jupiter

Answer 8

yes it is a planet. that planet is jupiter. besides the moon, right now jupiter is the brightest object in the night sky. venus is starting to be visible again, but it is faint compared to jupiter. it was a lot brighter earlier on in the month, but it is still very noticable.

saturn and mars are visible, but aren't as bright, and aren't close to the moon.

Answer 9

maybe.. but it would be identified by scientists. theres a big chance that it was a star. how about researching about how to tell a star and planet apart? it really helps